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Abstract
This study evaluated a series of pre‐sentence reports of a sample of juvenile sex offenders with the aim of providing information on the offence characteristics, developmental history and clinical profile of Australian juvenile sex offenders. The contents of 70 reports representing all juvenile sex offenders in contact with the New South Wales Juvenile Justice Department for the period 1996 to 1998 were analysed according to a structured protocol developed by the authors. The protocol assessed offence characteristics, developmental, cognitive, educational, psychosexual, and psychosocial factors. The profile findings indicated that juvenile sex offenders in New South Wales have problems across multiple domains of functioning, including the intra‐personal, social, educational, and sexual. The profile was similar to studies of juvenile sex offenders in the USA and Britain. The findings provide important information to those who adjudicate and care for this group of young people.